subject: Dealing With The Stress Of Quitting Smoking [print this page] When you trying to give up smoking, you may already know that it is not an easy task. One reason that lots of people fail is they have troublemanaging the stress of quitting smoking.
Why is it stressful to give up smoking?
Every person experiences stress at one point or another in their life, but the difference for you may be that you have connected dealing with stress to smoking at some point in your life. This is the case with many people, and is completely normal, but may be hold you back in your attempts at quitting smoking.
Just like many individuals who turn to alcohol or other drugs to deal with stress, just as many people use cigarettes to medicate their feelings of stress. The truth is that, while a cigarette may give you a feeling of calm, it is in fact a man-made, chemical feeling and doesn't last for long. You may have found that over the years, one cigarette doesn't have the same effect that it used to, and you are forced to smoke more and more in order to calm yourself.
For this reason you may be finding that your stress levels 're going up as you try to stop smoking. The cigarettes that were once your refuge and relief from stress have been taken from you, and you simply have no idea how to deal with stress anymore.
How to manage stress without smoking
The simple way to this is to find other, healthier and more sustainable methods to deal with your stress. Physical activity is a great stress-reliever. Have you ever heard of the idea of a "runner's high?" That refers to the natural release of chemicals in the brain that we experience after exercise. They relax us and give us a sensation of pleasure. This occurs after any kind of physical activity, and is a natural and extremely effective way to relieve stress.
Another way that many people find works to relieve stress without having to use cigarettes is spiritual practices. Realizing that you are a human with faults and weaknesses and appealing to a higher power for help have both helped many people deal with their stress in the past. Whether it be a form of meditation, practicing in an organized religion, or something like yoga, ordering your mind and body can be wonderfully useful in dealing with the stress of quitting smoking.
